President Obama directs administration to accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year

President Obama has directed the U.S. government to accept at least 10,000 refugees from Syria in the next fiscal year, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announced Thursday, a six-fold increase over the number admitted this year to the United States.

The new figure, which Earnest described as an “ambitious goal,” reflected the growing pressure the administration faces to develop a more robust response to the spiraling humanitarian crisis that has grown out of armed conflict in Syria as well as neighboring countries. Earnest also urged other nations in Europe and the Mideast—including some that don’t typically welcome asylum seekers—to “ramp up” their willingness to take in Syrian refugees.

The administration’s response comes as a top European Union official earlier this week proposed spreading about 160,000 refugees across nearly two dozen countries.